1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to peanut blanching and buffing equipment and more particularly is directed towards a new and improved apparatus for buff blanching peanuts using a pair of parallel abrasive rolls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the processing of peanuts it is customary, at least for many peanut uses, to remove the dark outer skin from the nut after the nut has been shelled. The process of removing the dark skin is known as blanching and it may be done by a number of different procedures and machines already known in the art. For example, blanching may be carried out by a wet process called water blanching by which the nuts are soaked in water to loosen the skins and then passed between a moving belt and an oscillating pad that rubs the skin from the nut. Dry blanching techniques have utilized a horizontally moving belt on which the nuts are deposited. Fixed abrasive baffles are disposed diagonally across and slightly above the belt so that the nuts spin and roll diagonally across the belt along the face of the baffle as the belt moves in a lengthwise direction. The spinning, rolling action against the abrasive face wears off the skin to achieve the blanching action. Various other means have been used to perform the blanching step.
While the foregoing procedures and equipment are useful in blanching nuts where the nuts are to be consumed uncoated or to be converted into peanut butter, the prior art has not been particularly successful in blanching a nut which produces a buffed finish which provided a good surface for adhering various coatings that may be applied to the nuts. For example, peanuts frequently are used as centers for candies with the nuts being coated with various substances such as chocolate, etc. If the blanced nut has too smooth a surface, the coating tends to separate from the nut, whereas if the surface is too rough usually an excessive amount of nut meat has been removed and wasted and the surface itself is irregular. In either event, the blanching equipment currently available has not been able to produce efficiently and at low cost a blanched peanut having a buffed surface ideally suited for coating.
Accordingly, it is an object to the present invention to provide a novel apparatus for buff blanching peanuts to produce a blanched peanut having a textured surface appropriate for coating.
Another object of this invention is to provide a buff blanching machine adapted to be adjusted to accommodate a variety of peanuts having different physical characteristics such as size, shape, skin tightness, and the like.
Another object of this invention is to provide a machine for buff blanching peanuts without appreciable damage to the nuts by way of splitting or excess removal of nut meat.